1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of male-female electrical connector devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the known prior art of multi-pin connectors, a shortcoming that has become evident has been the eventual failure of the male-female portions to properly mate. This failure has been particularly evident in ganged connectors wherein there are a plurality of male-female connectors which are to be interconnected.
In this type of arrangement, manufacturing and assembly tolerances did not permit all of the receptacles in the connector to align with the mating pins. Therefore, distortion of the connector receptacles occurred which led to arcing and subsequent failure of the connection.
This shortcoming is particularly troublesome in large-scale electronic installations such as computers. Thus where there is a failure of a pin or pins in the interconnecting arrangement not only is it costly because it represents "down-time" of the computer operation, but it is often time consuming to trace and repair the defective pin.
Accordingly, the present invention is designed to provide a connector which provides a reliable electrical conductivity after many insertions and disconnects, as well as providing strain relief for the connecting pins under a variety of loading conditions.